Josh Ehrlich was a bundle of nerves his first night. The heat of the lights and the Bowie crowd, as well as the fact that he’d never played a single snap on high school turf before and here he was starting, threatened to chew him up.

“Things didn’t start out so hot,” Ehrlich said.

But then, a force of nature. Storms pushed the game to Saturday. In the light of day, Ehrlich threw for two touchdowns in the 21-13 victory.

Since then, the freshman quarterback has been chasing perfection, and coming pretty close.

Ehrlich has completed 214 passes for 1,826 yards and 30 touchdowns, as well as 50 carries for 93 yards and four touchdowns to lead unbeaten Broadneck (9-0) toward its first state title.

Abundant success could overwhelm a first-year high-schooler. But Ehrlich doesn’t see himself that way.

“No, I don't think like that. I'm a perfectionist,” he said. I want to make every ball, throw every ball right on the money. When you have that attitude … I don't really see myself as freshman.”

On that first night, though, like so many other days this season, Ehrlich leaned on his veterans, Andre Woods, Jason Carcamo and Ethon Williams, who each had a touchdown in the Bowie game.

The 7-year-old started as a running back, which made him happy because he’d be able to rack up carries. And yet, he was the one calling plays on the field. He just didn’t want the label that usually came with it.

“At 8, we were having trouble with our snaps,” Robert Ehrlich said. “We couldn't get the snaps down.”

Coach Anthony Hawkins, the Cape St. Claire youth coach then and now, called Kendel, Josh’s mother, with a request — “We need to make Josh the quarterback.”

“And Kendel said, 'No, you can't do that,’” Robert Ehrlich said. “Josh is smart enough to know at that age if he got to be the quarterback, he was going to hand off, not get his carries. He was not going to be a happy camper.”

So the adults fashioned a made-up position — the “wildcat.” They off-centered him at the line of scrimmage and designed plays (“wildcat right,” “wildcat left”) to throw Josh off the scent.

“He figured it out soon enough, but the bottom line is, he became our quarterback,” Robert Ehrlich said.

Josh was dynamic under center, and, by age 13, led his Cape squad to become Division I county champions and on to the state title game.

But it was early on that his Cape coaches — as well as another one — knew there was something special about him.

Broadneck coach Rob Harris had a son in the league who played alongside Ehrlich and was therefore at the seedling stage of the young quarterback’s career.

Ehrlich could have gone on to a private school like Gilman, as his father and older brother Drew had, who played in the glory days of the Greyhounds that resulted in 13 MIAA A titles in 20 years.

But Harris had always been there.

“He grabbed me — I'll never forget — at an All-Star game at 11 [years old] at Spalding, and said, 'Look. I'd really like you guys to think about Broadneck,’” Robert Ehrlich said.

The starting job at the Bruins was still a long way away for the youngest Ehrlich, though. Broadneck had two quarterbacks already.

The rising freshman had to work for it.

“I was working on the plays all winter, all spring,” Ehrlich said. “I was getting ready, getting bigger. I was pretty skinny last year.”

His father calls him “religious” about his alternate-day workouts. Father and son sit down to watch hours of film three nights a week, as they have for years. And, as no surprise to anyone, Ehrlich loves to run.

Ehrlich’s rushing touchdowns flash when they happen. The freshman has four already this year. Unlike his brother, who’s a straight-line runner, the younger Ehrlich is more of a juke-type.

But it’s his arm that’s truly shined this season.

“We call him a drop-back passer, he prefers himself a versatile, multi-dimensional,” his father said. “He likes to run. With his age and his build at this time, we don't like him running a whole lot.”

Ehrlich has a 57.5 percent completion rate up to the Annapolis game. Though his peak was mid-season, against Northeast, where he threw for an 88.9 percent rate, his numbers stay high through the rest of the season. And in games where his throwing was a little down, the quarterback’s running numbers inflate.

Ehrlich’s throwing skill came through years of refinement — which being a three-sport athlete didn’t always help.

“There are problems when a quarterback plays baseball. They want to throw the ball like a baseball, use their whole arm,” Hawkins said. “Once he developed the full-body motion as far as using his legs and upper-body to throw the football, his velocity and his off-strength took off.”

Harris sees constant evolution in Ehrlich’s arm, which, thankfully has some playoff time and another three whole seasons to occur.

“He’s not a finished product because he’s a freshman,” Harris said. “One day he’s going to be.”

Harris continued: “He works so hard. Next year or the year after, he’s going to be the guy that big plays come from.”

“Annapolis is a tough team. But I like our chances. We're gonna be fired up; they're gonna be fired up,” Ehrlich said. “But as soon as we go undefeated, I think we'll have a good shot at the state championship.”

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Brooke Watts and Mackenzie Meehan talk about what it took to rally against Severna Park and win three sets to take the 4A East Section I title, 3-2. (Nov. 7. 2018)

Brooke Watts and Mackenzie Meehan talk about what it took to rally against Severna Park and win three sets to take the 4A East Section I title, 3-2. (Nov. 7. 2018)

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Brooke Watts and Mackenzie Meehan talk about what it took to rally against Severna Park and win three sets to take the 4A East Section I title, 3-2. (Nov. 7. 2018)

Brooke Watts and Mackenzie Meehan talk about what it took to rally against Severna Park and win three sets to take the 4A East Section I title, 3-2. (Nov. 7. 2018)

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South River defeated Broadneck in four sets on Nov. 7.

South River defeated Broadneck in four sets on Nov. 7.

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Bella Espinoza kicked the deciding shot in a shootout between Broadneck and Severna Park soccer that gave the Falcons the 1-0 win and the 4A East crown. Katie Byrd had five saves. (Nov. 5, 2018)

Bella Espinoza kicked the deciding shot in a shootout between Broadneck and Severna Park soccer that gave the Falcons the 1-0 win and the 4A East crown. Katie Byrd had five saves. (Nov. 5, 2018)

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Northeast defeated Chesapeake, 28-27, on Nov. 2.

Northeast defeated Chesapeake, 28-27, on Nov. 2.

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Chesapeake’s Shelby Bennoit and Hannah McKeon discuss their two goals that spurred the Cougars’ comeback bid over Mount Hebron to win the 3A East title game. (Oct. 31, 2018)

Chesapeake’s Shelby Bennoit and Hannah McKeon discuss their two goals that spurred the Cougars’ comeback bid over Mount Hebron to win the 3A East title game. (Oct. 31, 2018)